Harshad Mehta 2.0 : Who is Rajesh Mehta The Man Behind India’s Biggest Alleged Scam? How Much Share Does LIC Holds in Rajesh Exports?

ON JUNE 3, 2026, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) released a 109-page interim order against Rajesh Exports and its managing director & Chairman Rajesh Mehta over alleged misrepresentation of company’s revenue between FY 2020-21 and FY 2024-25. The market regulator had alleged that there is a gap of ₹15.15 lakh crore of unaccounted revenue in the company’s filing over four years. 

SEBI revealed that the Swiss-based gold refinery Valcambi SA, a subsidiary of Rajesh Exports, only accounted for ₹3000 crore, whereas it has been listed as a key source of revenue for Rajesh Exports every year.

In their interim investigation, SEBI also found misrepresentation of market investment. Rajesh Exports claims it did over ₹11,000 crore worth of business with Affluence Shares and Stocks Private Limited, a stock brokerage firm. However, Affluence themselves deny these claims, saying Rajesh Exports were never listed as their customers.  For now, SEBI has only released the interim order against the gold and jewelry refinery business, barring Rajesh Mehta and its company from taking any part in stock market and trading financial securities. If Rajesh Exports fails to provide the necessary documents, the regulating body can take more actions.

Rajesh Mehta, 60, is a popular name in the gold and jewelry trading industry. After finishing his school studies, Rajesh skipped college to join his father’s jewelry business in 1984.

According to a 2016 Forbes article, Rajesh, along with his brother Prashant, took a loan of ₹1,200 to start Rajesh Diamonds, a company initially started by his father under Rajesh’s name.  His global ambition and aspirations were well documented in his interview, documenting his rise as a gold trading giant.

The company was publicly listed in 1995, raising over ₹100 crore from the market. The acquisition of the biggest gold refinery in the world, the Swiss-based Valcambi SA, in 2015 marked a major step in Rajesh Exports growth. 

See Also: Who Is Rishu Shree? Bihar Contractor at the Centre of Tender Scam That Led to Suspension of Two IAS Officers

The Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) came under fire after SEBI released its interim order against Rajesh Exports on June 3, 2026. 

It was revealed that the government-owned insurance company still holds 10.8% share in Rajesh Exports. A part of this investment came in the last seven months when other mutual funds were already alarmed of the ongoing SEBI probe.

Rajesh Exports once hit a peak share value of ₹946.85 in February 2023. According to SEBI’s interim report this was during the period of alleged misfiling. When the market closed on Friday, June 5, 2026, the Share price of Rajesh Exports was now at ₹98.7, crashed 90% from its peak and down 5% from the previous day.

The SEBI first received a complaint against Rajesh Exports in March 2024 and the investigation has been underway ever since. This poses a question on why LIC didn’t cash out their investment,  when other mutual funds were already alarmed by this probe and stayed away from the jewelry firm.

Market data shows that LIC maintained 10.8% to 11.18% share in Rajesh Exports since March 2023, a month after the company hit its peak share value. Despite Rajesh Exports share price plummeting by 49% in the last year, LIC has not cashed out its stake in the company, putting doubts on whether there is internal conspiracy and links with Rajesh Exports. The answers are still not provided.

In an interview with NDTV Profit, Chairman & Managing Director, Rajesh Mehta, reiterated that this is an interim order and SEBI has not reached any final verdict yet. He repeatedly says that there has been a miscommunication between the market regulator and his company. According to him, the company has provided 80,000 documents to SEBI, amounting to 400GB of data.

While Mehta claims he respects the wisdom of SEBI and its auditor, he also said, “Maybe they have not checked [all files] because of the bulkiness of the documents.”

Addressing the misregistered filing with Affluence Shares and Stocks Pvt Ltd, Mehta said, “SEBI has not seen the clarification correctly. This trade is absolutely correct. It is spread over a period of four years with Affluence. We have shared information with SEBI about the same.” 

When asked about Affluence denying any relation to Rajesh Export, Mehta evaded the question and repeated his earlier stance of having submitted accurate documents. While the SEBI’s investigation is still at an interim level, Rajesh Mehta’s statement of terming this as just a “communication gap”  that has lasted more than 2 years doesn’t offer assurance to the public so far.

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